When it comes to One Piece, mangaka Eiichiro Oda has laways had a very distinct art style. From lanky characters to unrealistically muscular bodies which won’t be possible in the real world, Oda has made them for his manga. His art style is certainly a bit unique even in Japan, as it really doesn’t conform to the usual moe art style popular in the country.

But did you know that he actually intended to make his art style a bit… strange. In an author’s blurb for Weekly Shounen Jump! magazine, Oda explined why he intdended to do so.

“20 years ago, when I was just getting started as a manga creator, people would always say ‘Your art is really unusual.’ Even when One Piece began serialization, people kept saying things like ‘I hate the art’ or ‘Your art is weird, but the series is interesting.’”

“And I totally get what they’re saying, because I did everything I could to make something different from the manga other people were making.”

In his explanation, he really said that he wanted it to be unique. I guess it payed-off, as One Piece is now one of the highest-selling manga on Earth. And if you think about it, if he used an art style like everybody else, or intentionally make his characters like bishounen or bishoujo, One Piece might not be as successful.